


Welcome Home

by DashFlintceschi



Category: All Time Low, You Me At Six
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-10
Updated: 2015-02-10
Packaged: 2018-03-11 12:43:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,378
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3327389
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DashFlintceschi/pseuds/DashFlintceschi
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In 2017, vampires took over the world. After quickly finding a better source of sustenance than human blood, vampires began keeping humans as pets, treating them in much the same way humans once treated dogs. Some are for security, some are beloved members of the family, and unfortunately, some are badly abused, ending up in shelters until they're adopted.</p><p>In 3013, Josh and Dan bring their new rescue human home from the shelter.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Welcome Home

**Author's Note:**

> This is what happens when I can't sleep for days. I get weird ideas that end up being some of the best things I've ever written. Still really, really weird, though.

Josh bounces excitedly in his seat as they pull into the carpark of the shelter. Today’s the day he and Dan are finally adopting a human. It’s about time, they’ve both been big campaigners for human rights for years, and Josh’s has wanted a human for even longer. Dan kept putting him off, though, reminding him that a human is a huge commitment, until he finally agreed with Josh that they were ready for it, and here they are. Josh bounces along the row of small enclosures, stopping at each occupied one, talking calmly and soothingly to the occupants, trying to get a feel for them, to see which one will click with them, which one they can give the best home to.

Dan follows at a more sedate pace, watching him with a besotted look, giving a soft smile and a few gentle, kind words to each of the humans Josh has already passed. He knows Josh hasn’t ruled any of them out, he just wants to speak with them all and make absolutely sure they’re making the right decision. As Dan approaches Josh and the last enclosure, he realises Josh has lingered here longer than any of the others, leaning against the chain link gate with his arm snaked through it, speaking in a soft, coaxing voice.

Dan can’t hear what Josh is saying, or see who he’s speaking to, until he’s at Josh’s side.

“It’s alright, sweetheart, we’re not going to hurt you, we just want to meet you,” he coos, smiling gently and reassuringly. Dan turns to look into the enclosure, biting his lip in sympathy. The occupant of the enclosure is huddled in a beaten up armchair in the furthest corner from the door, head turned to watch them over his shoulder with wary brown eyes. Dan leans back to read the laminated A4 sheet of paper attached to the door.

_‘Alex was found a year ago, bloody and beaten on the roadside. Extremely shy and wary, especially around strangers, Alex would benefit from a quiet home with no children, and a easy going, calm lifestyle, with constant reassurance and frequent positive reinforcement. Alex is Caucasian, thought to be from the Americas, roughly twenty-three (23) years old, with dark blond to light brunette hair, brown eyes, six (6) feet and one (1) inch tall. Will you be the one to give Alex the loving home he deserves?’_

Dan looks up from reading and feels guilty as Alex freezes, having haltingly inched halfway across the enclosure towards Josh’s kind eyes and gentle coaxing. Dan smiles comfortingly and leans against the door.

“It’s ok, love, we’re going to take you home. Do you want to come home with us?” He asks kindly, smile warm and eyes inviting. Alex hesitates, looking between them both warily, then slowly nods, a tiny smile creeping onto his lips.

“Are you absolutely sure, babe? I love him already, but I don’t want to get his hopes up if you’re not completely sure,” Josh worries, and Dan grins.

“I’m positive, one hundred percent, he’s the one for us,” he insists, and Josh can’t help but grin back.

They leave the shelter half an hour later, Alex safely between them, a small bag of his belongings slung over Dan’s shoulder. Once they’re in the car, Alex fidgeting nervously in the back seat, Dan turns around to look at him with a smile.

“How about we go to the pet shop on the way home? Get you everything you need, or anything you just want, really,” he suggests with a small laugh, and Alex shrugs with one shoulder, then gives a small, timid nod. Dan nods back, then turns back around, frowning to himself as he starts the car. He had figured from the wording on Alex’s information sheet that he doesn’t talk, not even to confirm his age or where he’s from, but Dan can’t help but worry anyway. Josh reaches over and takes Dan’s hand from where it was resting on the gear stick, lacing their fingers together and squeezing reassuringly, clearly having the same thoughts, but somehow knowing it’ll be alright in the end.

As they go into Pets at Home, Dan grips Alex’s hand, since they don’t have a leash yet, gently so he doesn’t hurt or scare him, but firmly enough to keep a hold on him if he bolts. He doesn’t, though, simply follows Dan obediently, until they pass through the doors of the shop, and the greeter smiles apologetically.

“Sorry, humans need to be on a leash,” she tells them, and Josh bites his lip, but Dan just smiles.

“No problem. Babe, I’ll wait outside with him, you run and grab a leash and a harness, pay for it now and bring it out. Is that alright?” He instructs Josh, then asks the greeter, just to check. She nods with a grin, and he smiles in return, then heads back outside with Alex as Josh rushes up the aisles to get what they need.

Dan leans against the wall just to the side of the doors, hand still gripping Alex’s, talking aimlessly in an attempt to make Alex more comfortable with him.

“You’ll never have to be alone again. I work from home, and any time I do go out, I’ll be taking you with me. You can sit in the office with me while I work, or you can do literally anything else you want, I don’t mind. And you’ll always be welcome for a cuddle anytime you want one, from either of us, or both, if you want. You can have your own room, or sleep in ours, at the foot of the bed, or a bed of your own, it’s your choice. All we want is for you to be happy,” he finishes as Josh comes back out with the leash and harness.

Dan takes them from him with a smile and turns to Alex to put them on, smile widening as he takes in the timid grin on Alex’s face. Clearly his inane chattering did some good. Alex steps forward and holds out his hands, standing still and letting Dan easily slip the harness onto him and fasten it against his back. He stands still as Dan checks that it’s not twisted, and neither too tight nor too loose, then clips the leash to it and cocks his head towards the door.

“ Shall we, then?” He asks, and Alex nods, grin slightly less timid and the wariness fading from his eyes.

Shopping for Alex is difficult, because he either doesn’t know what he likes, or he doesn’t want to say. Either way, every time they point something out to him or ask for his opinion, he shrugs with an uncomfortable expression. Finally, when they’ve gone around the whole shop twice, and the trolley is still empty, Josh stops and turns to Alex with a frustrated expression. Alex reacts instantly; apparently, he’s been watching Josh, noticing the tension building in his shoulders, and is expecting the worst, as he scuttles backwards as far as he can with Dan still holding the leash, bows his head and cringes, obviously expecting a blow that will never come. 

The frustration instantly melts from Josh’s face as a look of heartbreak takes it’s place. He quickly closes the gap between them and oh so gently takes Alex’s face in his hands, lifting it until he’s reluctantly looking Josh in the eyes.

“You will never, _never_ be struck, ever again, no matter what you do, no matter how angry we are, we will never strike you, and if anyone else even raises their hand to try, you tell me, and I’ll rip their face off, alright?” He tells him, and Dan clears his throat.

“Tell _us_ , and _we’ll_ rip their face off, then kill them in the slowest, most agonising way possible, alright?” He amends, and Alex nods, the fear slowly but surely fading.

“I made you angry, though, didn’t I?” Are the first words he ever says to either of them, and their hearts break a little bit.

“No, sweetheart. I wasn’t angry, just a little frustrated. I was just going to explain to you that we love you, and we want you to have the best of everything, and you won’t let us do that. At the very least, you need the essentials, and you’re making it impossible for us to even get you those. Just… _try_ to work with us here, please?” He begs, and Alex nods hesitantly.

“I still don’t think you should be wasting money on me, but if you’re going to insist on spending it anyway, I’ll try to pick out stuff I like,” he agrees, and they both grin.

They make another round of the shop, Alex actually examining and choosing things this time. They’re halfway around when Dan glances over at him with a smile.

“They were right, at the shelter, then? You sound American,” he asks, and Alex nods with a small smile.

“Yeah, just outside of Baltimore, Maryland,” he confirms, and Dan’s eyes widen. He’s about to ask, when Alex answers without realising. “Jack!” He cries happily, rushing towards the lanky figure at the end of the aisle. Dan’s so glad to see the happy grin on Alex’s face, that he drops the end of the leash without hesitation, letting Alex go to his friend.

Jack is their friend Max’s pet, and while Maryland is a big place, ‘just outside of Baltimore’ is the exact same thing Jack said when asked where he was from, and Dan thought it was more than a coincidence, and he’s right.

They hug each other tightly, both talking a mile a minute, and while it sounds like gibberish to Josh and Dan, they seem to be answering each other, so they seem to be able to understand each other. After a minute or so, Max turns to them with an exasperated expression.

“For god’s sake! Why can’t people control their damn pets?!” He snarls, and Alex’s mouth snaps shut with an audible click as the colour drains from his face. He seems to be frozen for a few seconds, before turning and fleeing, clutching the back of Dan’s hoodie as he huddles behind him in fear.

Max watches him as he goes, wanting an owner to lecture on pet control, and his eyes widen in surprise when they land on Dan, who’s giving him an unimpressed glare as he tries to tug Alex around in front of him, only so he can comfort him properly.

“Are you done traumatising my human, now?” He snaps, fangs sliding into view as a growl builds in his throat.

“Are you ready to control your human, now?” Max retorts, and the growl turns into a snarl.

“The first sign of genuine happiness we’ve seen from him so far was when he saw Jack. I wasn’t about to ruin that for him,” Dan snarls defensively, squeezing Alex’s arm reassuringly when he squeaks in fear.

“You ended up getting a rescue, then?” Max asks, calming down, but Dan’s not done. He grabs the end of Alex’s leash again and hands it to Josh.

“Babe, can you take Lex to look at the rabbits? I don’t want to scare him more than I already have,” he tries to take the snarl out of his voice, but it doesn’t really work. Josh takes the leash without argument, then hesitates slightly.

“Jack, you want to come see the rabbits with us?” He offers, and Jack looks to Max with wide, hopeful eyes. Max nods with a defeated sigh and lets the end of Jack’s leash slide off his wrist. Jack rushes over to them with a wide grin, taking Alex’s hand happily as Josh grabs his leash and hurries them away to the rabbit enclosure before Dan explodes.

As soon as he’s sure they’re out of earshot, he closes the gap between them in three strides and grabs the front of Max’s t-shirt, pulling him up until they’re nose to nose. He tears into him, voice never rising above a deadly hiss, and by the time he’s done, just as Josh comes back around the corner with the two humans, Max is deathly pale, tears of fear in his eyes. Dan gives him one last glare, then uses his grip on Max’s t-shirt to throw him away from himself, making Max stumble, having to grab the shelf beside him to steady himself as Dan turns on his heel, strides over to where Alex is watching him apprehensively, and pulls him into his chest, holding him tightly as he rocks them from side to side.

“Did you enjoy seeing the rabbits?” He asks Alex softly, his way of reassuring Alex, and it works, Alex relaxes visibly as he returns the embrace, nodding with a smile.

“I love rabbits,” he responds softly, and Dan smiles, burying his face in Alex’s hair. He really does love their little human.

Alex decides to sleep at the foot of their bed that night. They make sure he knows the king size bed in the room next to theirs is for him, and get a small bed, much like the ‘dog beds’ of old, and place it under the window in their bedroom with a warm blanket, making sure Alex has as many options as possible to make him comfortable. He seems most comfortable curled up at their feet, though, so Josh just smiles and rubs Alex’s side affectionately with his foot as they fall asleep.

Dan frowns the next morning as he hears the soft, hesitant taps on the door of his home office. He turns around with a questioning eyebrow raised as Alex peeks around the door.

“Is it still ok if I sit in here with you?” He whispers timidly, and Dan smiles reassuringly.

“It will always be ok. You don’t need to knock, just come straight in and get settled, ok?” He insists, and Alex nods, relaxing slightly as he comes all the way into the room. Dan turns back to his computer as he starts talking.

“So, sit wherever, have a look through the books if… You…” He trails off as Alex plops down onto the floor at his feet, leaning against his leg and humming contentedly as he rubs the side of his head against Dan’s knee. 

Dan has to think about what he wants to say for a few minutes before he speaks. He needs to be sure he’s found the best way to say it without Alex getting scared that he’s in trouble. Finally, he thinks he’s got it, and nods to himself as his hand drops to card his fingers through Alex’s hair.

“Lexxi, sweetheart, are you sure you’ll be comfortable there?” He asks gently, doing his best to sound nothing but concerned, but Alex still turns his head up to look at him with wide, scared eyes.

“D-did you not want me to sit here?” He asks, his voice wavering, and Dan sighs sadly, slipping off his chair to kneel beside Alex.

“You can sit absolutely anywhere you want. Where you sit is never going to be a problem. I’m just worried that you’re sitting somewhere uncomfortable because you think it’s what I want,” he explains gently, and Alex smiles in relief.

“I wanna sit here. I like sitting on the floor, and I like being near you, so the place I wanna sit the most is on the floor next to you,” he explains, and Dan grins.

“Alright, the floor it is. Have you eaten?” He asks as he settles back in his chair, and Alex nods as he leans against Dan’s leg again with a contented sigh.

“Josh made me food before he left for work,” he tells him, and Dan frowns as he looks at the time in the bottom corner of his screen. Josh leaves for work at half seven every morning, it’s almost noon now.

“Did you eat after that?” He asks, and he feels Alex stiffen against his leg as he shakes his head quickly. Dan acts fast, one hand rubbing Alex’s neck soothingly as the other slides into his hair.

“Ok, ok, there’s been a miscommunication here, I think. Why did you think I asked you that?” He asks gently, tilting Alex’s head to make him look at him.

“Because I’m only supposed to eat once a day, you were making sure I wasn’t eating too much, or taking food without asking, I won’t do that, I promise! I promise, I’ll be good,” he whimpers, and Dan sinks to the floor with him again, this time pulling him into his lap and cradling him.

“There has definitely been a miscommunication,” he mumbles with a sigh, holding Alex to his chest tighter. “I was asking because we want you to eat three meals a day. We’ve been fighting for better human rights for decades, Josh and me, and that was one of the big ones. So many people think humans only need to eat once a day, but you don’t, it’s horrifyingly bad for your health. You need to eat three meals a day to be healthy. I was asking because I was worried that you might not have had lunch yet, so we’re going to go downstairs, and I’m going to make us lunch, ok?” He explains, and Alex stares at him with wide eyes.

“I’d never be able to eat that much!” He insists, and Dan smiles.

“Ok, how about this, we’ll start with three small meals, and slowly increase it, a little extra each week, until you’re eating a healthy amount, would that be ok?” He asks gently, and Alex nods, chewing on his bottom lip. “Stop that, you’ll hurt yourself,” Dan admonishes softly, using the very tip of his finger to gently pull his lip out from between his teeth.

“Sorry, I’ll try not to. The thing with the food sounds ok, I think I could manage it,” he mumbles, and Dan grins, slowly getting to his feet and taking Alex with him.

It takes a long time, but eventually, Alex settles in and gets really, truly comfortable with them. He gets mostly comfortable with them quite quickly, though his favourite place to sit is still on the floor by Dan’s feet. Unless Max and Jack are visiting, then he sits in the middle of the floor with Jack, both talking faster than should be possible and sucking down Capri Suns like crack. Dan’s pretty sure Alex is addicted to the damn things, but they make him happy, so Dan can’t bring himself to care. Alex still looks round every fifteen minutes or so, though, just to make sure Dan hasn’t gone anywhere without him.

Josh realises it’s happened one day, nineteen months after they brought Alex home. He comes home from work, tugging his tie from his neck as he pokes his head around the door, looking for signs of life in the living room, and finds Alex stretched out on the couch, flicking through the channels trying to find something to watch.

“Hey Lexxi,” Josh calls softly, having gotten so used to avoiding startling him. Rather than startle, Alex raises a hand in a semblance of a wave.

“Dude,” is all he says in response, it’s clear in his tone that he’s happy to see Josh, he’s just gotten so used to their routine that it’s become second nature to him. And that thought makes Josh grin so wide it hurts as he kisses Alex’s forehead then goes in search of Dan. He finds him standing in front of the cooker, stirring something in a steaming pot. He wraps his arms around Dan’s waist and presses his face into the side of his neck as he grins.

“It finally happened. Our boy’s finally home,” he mumbles happily, and Dan has to lean away from him and squint at him in confusion. But then he realises, Josh is home, and he never heard Alex’s usual squawk of surprise, and it clicks. Dan grins with him, and, not for the first or last time, silently thanks Josh for talking him into going to the shelter that day, even if it was supposed to be ‘just to look’.


End file.
